LETTER: Restricting Access To Guns Dangerous

January 25, 2013

Tragedies like Sandy Hook inspire people to "do something." Fish gotta swim and legislators gotta legislate, but sincere soul-searching on the real contributors to tragedy is more appropriate than hasty, emotional legislation trampling the rights of the law-abiding. It is well-documented that restricting access to firearms by law-abiding citizens results in higher violent crime rates and won't prevent future Sandy Hooks.

Recent proposals from Washington and Hartford are the usual folderol from those with no understanding of weapons and their use. These useless measures will have the (hopefully unintended) consequence of making law-abiding citizens potential felons for engaging in their unalienable right to defend themselves. This is the domain of tyrants and unworthy of the founding principles of our nation.

The right to keep and bear arms in defense of one's self and the state are long-standing rights that precede the foundation of our republic. Its inclusion in the Bill of Rights and the Connecticut Constitution was to ensure citizens have a defense against tyranny. Legislative action removing that last resort or impairing the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves calls into question the motives and intentions of those who seek to do so.